OLIVIA’S POV
The first thing i felt was pain in every single part of my body.
Like my whole body had been broken and put back together the wrong way. I tried to move, but I couldn't.
My fingers twitched slightly, but even that felt like too much. A soft sound filled my ears.
My eyes slowly opened, but the light was too bright. I blinked, trying to focus. The first thing I noticed was the white ceiling and machines.
“They’re alive, Olivia.”
The voice was deep, smooth, and entirely unfamiliar.
I froze, then slowly I turned my head.
A man was sitting in the chair beside my bed. He was dressed in a charcoal suit that cost more than most people made in a year. His dark hair was perfectly styled, and his eyes were sharp, watching me with a strange intensity.
“Relax,” he said, stepping closer. “You’re not in a condition to move like that.”
“W…who are you? And how did i get here.” I rubbed my temple slightly, everything really hurts.
“Julian Cross,” He said , his tone was sharp and steady.
My eyes flared open .The name hit me instantly
Immediately, I tried to sit up but I failed.
Julian Cross.
Even in my state, I knew that name. Everyone did.
He was Damien’s biggest rival in this cooperate world. The man he hated the most.
He was the man who had been trying to dismantle the Lightwood empire for years. I remembered the headline from years ago when he had driven a Lightwood associate to a permanent public breakdown by exposing his gambling debt.
He was cold. Ruthless and untouchable .
Now I’m trapped in a room with him. My chest heaved up and down rapidly.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice still weak but sharper now.
“I saved your life.” He replied.
I stared at him. “What?”
“I was driving behind you when the truck hit,” he said, leaning forward. There was no pity in his gaze, only a cold, calculating interest.
“I was the one who pulled you out before the car caught fire. You’ve been out for two days.”
Two days.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
“Damien… does he know?” I asked.
Julian’s lips curled into a dry, mocking smile.
“The world thinks you’re missing, Olivia. Your car was found at the bottom of the ravine, burnt to a crisp. The police haven't found a body yet, but the news is already speculating. Damien? He hasn't exactly been leading a search party.”
The pain in my chest had nothing to do with my injuries. It was the final, twisting knife in my heart. He didn’t even care enough to look for me. To him, I was already dead.
“Why did you save me?” I asked, my voice trembling. “You hate the Lightwoods.”
“Because I saw an opportunity.”
I already knew where he was going before he proposed it.
“I’m not interested,” I said quietly.
He raised a brow. “I haven’t made the offer yet.”
“I don’t need to hear it.” I turned my face away from him.
My body hurt so badly.
“I’m offering you a chance, Olivia. A chance to stop being the victim and start being the one who pulls the strings. I can give you a new name. A new life. And eventually, revenge.”
“I don't want revenge. I just want to be left alone. I want my children to be safe,” I said, still looking away from him.
“You think they’ll be safe as long as Beatrice and Cassandra are breathing?” Julian asked. “They threw you out. Humiliated you. Replaced you like you were nothing. They won't stop until you, and whatever claim you have to the Lightwood name, are erased.”
“No,” I whispered, closing my eyes. “I can’t do this. Just… let me go.”
He stood up, adjusting his cuffs.
“Fine. Sleep on it. But remember, the world thinks you’re a ghost. It’s a lot easier to stay a ghost than to come back from the dead.”
After he left, the silence of the room felt heavy. I stayed awake for hours, clutching my stomach.
Tears slipped down my temples.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the high beams of the truck and the cold, triumphant look on Beatrice’s face.
But as the night went on, a prickling sensation crawled up my neck. The feeling that I was being watched. I looked toward the door, but the hallway was quiet.
I tried to tell myself it was the painkillers, but the air in the room felt different.
Something didn’t feel right, it felt like I wasn’t alone.
The room was empty. But my chest tightened anyway.
“Hello?” I whispered.
No answer. Then my heart started beating faster.
Maybe it was just my mind. I was probably overthinking it. This a secured building, i shouldn’t be worrying about anything.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm down and sleep. Then, something creaked behind me.
My eyes snapped open.
Before I could react. I felt a sudden, violent pressure on my throat.
My eyes widened in terror.
I felt a presence hovering over the head of my bed. I tried to turn, but my neck was stiff. Suddenly his hands were wrapped around my neck, squeezing with a brutal, silent strength.
I thrashed against the bed. My hands clawed at their wrists, but I was too weak. The machines started flatlining. The alarm is screaming into the quiet room.
My lungs burned, screaming for air that wouldn't come.
Suddenly, I heard the door burst open.
“Get off her!”
The weight was ripped away. I heard a dull thud and the sound of a struggle. I rolled onto my side, gasping for air my throat felt like it had been shredded.
Through my blurred vision, I saw Julian pinning the intruder against the wall. Before he could pull the mask off, the person kicked out, twisting away and diving through the open window of the ground-floor suite.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
I shook my head weakly.“I—he—he was going to kill me…”
“Did you see his face?”
I shook my head again. “No…”
“But… why?" I asked, fear flushed through my face.
Julian frowned. “Don’t you see what’s happening here, Olivia?”
“I don’t understand," I said, my voice breaking.
“He’s trying to tie up the loose ends,” he said.
“Who?” I asked. Confused.
Julian didn’t answer immediately. He just looked at me.
Then he said, “Damien.”
“No.” My chest tightened. “It was just an accident. He wouldn’t do that.”
Would he?
Julian looked at me for a long second. Then turned away slightly.
“He wanted you gone, Olivia," Julian said quietly.
“No…” I whispered. “I don’t want to believe that.”
Tears filled my eyes again.
Even after everything, even after I signed, even after I left, he still wanted me dead.
“He thinks you are a problem. He thinks you’ll ruin everything. He thinks you’ll come back,” Julian paused, “so he wants to make sure you don't."
My chest tightened painfully. Tears filled my eyes.
“Now do you believe me? They won’t let you live, Olivia.”
I closed my eyes. Everything clicked, and my heart broke again.
I opened my eyes.
“They tried to kill me.” My voice trembled.
Something inside me changed, this time completely. Everything burned away, leaving something else behind. Something colder.
I looked at Julian. My voice is steadier now.
“Julian. You said revenge.”
He didn’t speak. He just watched me.
I took a shaky breath. Then I nodded.
“I’ll do it.”
“Help me,” I whispered. “Help me disappear. I want the world to think Olivia Lightwood died in that crash. I want them to forget I ever existed.”
Julian nodded slowly. “And when you come back?”
I touched my stomach. Feeling the tiny, miraculous heartbeats that had survived everything the Lightwoods had thrown at them.
“When I come back,” I said, my eyes turning as cold as the rain that had nearly killed me.
“I won’t be the woman he discarded. I’ll be the woman who takes everything from him.”
“Good,” Julian said, reaching out a hand.
“Then let’s get to work.”
